‘Loki’ shakes up the established order of the Marvel Cinematic Universe | Engadget

In case you didn’t hear earlier, Loki will return for season two, and thank goodness: the finale didn’t resolve an entire lot, if it resolved something. Well, we did discover out who was pulling the strings behind the Time Variance Authority and why, nevertheless it actually served as an introduction to a villain who’s scheduled to make his subsequent look in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

However, Loki by no means felt like an prolonged prequel to properly… something. It’s been a present that’s stood largely by itself, one which cast a novel identification other than all the pieces else within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, together with the Thor motion pictures. After all, this isn’t the Loki we spent eight years watching on display. This one was created in 2019 in the course of Avengers: Endgame, a variant that thus far is strolling a path freed from Asgard and all that pesky Avengers enterprise.

And so Loki the present paved its personal street as properly, probably not relying an excessive amount of on data of the movies previous the primary and final Avengers motion pictures. You might stroll into the collection understanding as a lot about Loki’s destiny because the variant Loki and stroll away after the primary season understanding simply as little. The finale was fascinating as a result of for the primary time, I do not know how a Marvel present suits into the higher scheme of issues. And like He Who Remains, I discover {that a} bit thrilling.

One factor that has been true of all of the Marvel reveals has that we’ve at all times typically identified the place they’re supposed to fit into the larger universe. Agents of SHIELD was initially meant to be a means for the facet tales of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to thrive however for some time it was handled as a spot to dump film leftovers. Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist had been initially aimed towards organising The Defenders restricted collection. WandaVision was a prequel for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, whereas The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did character work for the following Captain America movie.

But Loki, apart from wrapping up a free thread from Endgame, doesn’t truly tie into something, particularly any upcoming initiatives. They don’t even identify the person backstage, he’s simply “He Who Remains.” And he’s killed by the tip of the episode, which implies any time we see him from this level ahead, it’s technically a unique particular person; one other cosmic iteration of the identical jerk. Fans of the comics know that he’s meant to be Kang the Conqueror, however that large reveal is but to come back — as a result of the person we met just isn’t a conqueror. He was a cosmic bureaucrat.

The conqueror, although hinted at within the Loki finale, will make his first full look in early 2023. He gained’t bear in mind the occasions proven within the Disney+ present since he wasn’t truly there, which implies both the movie will utterly ignore all we discovered right here, or clarify it to the viewers anew. Prior data of Loki shouldn’t and most probably gained’t be mandatory.

Which leaves season two of Loki free to do properly, virtually something it needs. The man who appears to now be accountable for the TVA is unlikely to be even near the identical man that Scott Lang and Hope Pym should tangle with, since we’re coping with a multiverse of potentialities. It does throw the following Doctor Strange film right into a little bit of uncertainty, since in our authentic non-COVID timeline that was presupposed to have premiered again in May. Were we presupposed to see the debut of the multiverse earlier than we noticed its origin? Or will there be another cosmic wrench to mess issues up additional for the MCU? Numerous issues that appeared inevitable when all these initiatives had been initially introduced have now been thrown into uncertainty.

But for now, the important thing takeaway from the Loki finale is that the collection just isn’t beholden to the rest within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It didn’t must load up a ton of character growth or make certain all the pieces is again in place plot smart earlier than the following movie. It’s free to take its small forged of characters and absolutely discover their potentialities, with no worries about the way it will have an effect on the opposite Marvel properties. What will occur to Loki, Sylvie, Mobius, Ravonna and the remaining? We can deal with their particular person tales as a substitute of fussing over what can and may’t occur.

We can not make predictions based mostly on future initiatives within the pipeline, or contractual obligations of actors. Theories can proliferate and virtually nothing is off-limits. Every step Loki and the remaining take simply means one other multiverse to discover in reveals like What If?. The Sacred Timeline is useless, and so are the shackles of film continuity.